Looking good! BTW, I have that same Craftsman lathe, and it's done some pretty amazing work for me, including spinning a 235 crankshaft so I could turn a little over 1/2" off the diameter of the counterweights for piston skirt clearance on the stroker engine I'm building. The trick is to bolt a heavy tool bit directly to the compound, without any sort of tool holder, and use shims to set the cutting tool height. I'm using a piece of 1" square key stock as a tool holder, with a 3/4" triangular carbide bit bolted to it. The whole works is held onto the compound with a couple of 1/2-13 bolts threaded into T slot nuts. I've also made a couple of modifications to the carriage to prevent any flexing during heavy cuts.
I've got a South Bend 13" lathe and a Bridgeport mill in storage, waiting to be installed in the shop once the floor plan gets changed around a little.
Jerry
